Comedian Mordechi “Modi” Rosenfeld was on the last plane out of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, headed for four sold-out shows in Paris. The Hamas attack was already underway, but the country had not yet grasped its scale.
Though he was distraught and unsure of how to meet the moment, Rosenfeld knew he was going to perform no matter what. The challenge then, was to figure out how to make his largely Jewish fans laugh that week after the shockingly violent, deadly attacks.
First, he used comedy to give them a break from the horror livestreamed on their phones. Then, at the end of the show, Rosenfeld invited them to sing the Israeli national anthem together. It was a moment that fostered what the seasoned comic calls “Moshiach energy” — the positivity that will help bring the messiah.
Born in Tel Aviv, Rosenfeld lived in Ramat Gan until he was 7, when his family moved to Long Island. Like many Israeli families, the Rosenfelds were minimally observant, but Modi pursued a more observant path on his own accord, studying cantorial music at Yeshiva University.
He began a career in investment banking, but it wasn’t for him. For the last 30 years, Rosenfeld, 55, built up his career in stand-up comedy, honing his act on the Catskills entertainment scene, where some Orthodox Jews still vacation at old Borscht Belt resorts, and at Manhattan’s Comedy Cellar. He soon gained prominence for his spot-on impressions of the differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.
In an interview with J., Rosenfeld marveled at the vibrancy of the Jewish community in San Francisco, where he’s performed at smaller venues, including at Congregation Emanu-El in 2024.
Rosenfeld will return to San Francisco on tour with his second hourlong special, “Pause for Laughter.” The Nov. 13 show is sold out, but tickets are still available for the Feb. 11 performance at palaceoffinearts.org/event/modi.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you give us a taste of what “Pause for Laughter” is about?
It’s not as Jewish as my first special, “Know Your Audience.” It’s more talking about me doing comedy for over 30 years, me being married to my [non-Jewish] husband, our relationship. I talk about me going to a cathedral and experiencing that as a Jew. I talk about Muslim men, interracial couples and interfaith couples. [Rosenfeld’s husband was raised Catholic.] We’re having fun with it, not judging anybody, and showing the similarities between different people.
On “And Here’s Modi,” the podcast you cohost with your husband, you sometimes share your interest in spiritual practices that are not inherently Jewish. For instance in the first episode, you talked about lighting sage in a synagogue to cleanse it. How do these other traditions inform your Jewish practice?
Whatever spiritual teachings out there that are positive and good and represent unity, and not anger and not judging, they are all somewhere within the Torah and the teachings of the books of Judaism. Sometimes people present it in a much clearer way. For example, I love [self-help author] Dr. Wayne Dyer, he’s one of the biggest inspirations in my life. And his book “The Power of Intention” is a life-changing book. For me, it took a lot of the things that I knew in Judaism and placed them in a way that I can use them.
One of the biggest influences in my life is the Lubavitcher rebbe. He teaches us that in order for you to succeed and have blessings, you have to help other people. Anything you do should be with the thought of helping other people.
In your act, you famously poke fun at the differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews. How about East Coast and West Coast Jews — have you observed any differences between them?
Not in particular, but I know that Jews who live in New York see Jews who live outside of New York as simply “out of town.” What I did notice in previous visits to San Francisco is that the communities are more tight-knit. Your comedy show becomes a community event. I hear people say, “Hey, this is what’s happening in the Jewish world, we’re having an event to raise money for United Hatzalah, and Modi’s coming, let’s all get tickets to Modi.” So that’s the energy in a city like San Francisco. That, to me, is Moshiach energy.
In early June, you had the opportunity to interview freed Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov for your podcast. How are you feeling now after seeing the return of the remaining living hostages? Is this another example of Moshiach energy?
A hundred percent. When I saw the footage of all of Israel united to welcome home these hostages, that’s Moshiach energy. Everybody’s in harmony and, for a moment, there’s no fighting. Everybody is just happy that the hostages are home. It’s pure. Hopefully it carries through.
Omer, by the way, is unbelievable, the way he exudes so much resilience and happiness. And you could feel it from his parents as well. The way they were able to take the most horrible situation in the world and really create a vessel for Moshiach energy out of it, they just blew me away.
Are you going to continue singing “Hatikvah” at the end of your shows?
I’m going to keep doing it. After doing an hour and a half of comedy, it was my way of saying, “Hey, we just laughed and had a great time. We had a pause from all that’s happening in the world, and so just to remind ourselves where our thoughts, our hearts, our prayers are, we’ll sing ‘Hatikvah’ together.” Now it’s more out of gratitude, and the fact that we have Israel, and the fact that we have the soldiers home and the hostages home.